Before getting started, it’s a good idea to hire a professional remodeler for a workable plan and better results, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). A professional has the expertise and skills to assist the consumer and help to keep the budget in check. Here are five tips for planning a successful home remodel that you can enjoy for many years to come. 1. Compile a list of ideas and draft a budget for the work. Prioritize your wish list: Maybe you don’t have the budget for your dream remodel, but professional remodelers can maximize your dollars by doing the work in phases, suggesting budget-friendly products and materials and implementing creative design solutions. 2. Look for a professional remodeler to help plan the project. Start by searching NAHB’s Directory of Professional Remodelers at www.nahb.org/remodel. You’ll get a list of nearby remodelers to contact. Asking friends and neighbors for names of qualified remodelers will also help you find a match with someone who can handle your project and would be comfortable for you to work with. 3. Check the references and background of the remodeler. After you start speaking with remodelers and find one or two who match your project’s needs, be sure to conduct some background research. Remodelers who are members of professional organizations tend to be more reliable, better educated and more likely to stay on top of construction and design trends. 4. Agree on a contract. Talk over the details of the home remodeling project and begin reviewing the contract. You’ll want to check the remodelers’ insurance coverage, ask about any warranties on their work, know who is responsible for obtaining any building permits and understand the process for making any change orders after the contract is signed. Make sure that you and your remodeler see eye to eye before you sign on the dotted line. 5. Take advantage of the energy efficiency tax credits. If your remodel includes replacing windows or doors, adding insulation, installing new roofing, upgrading heating or air-conditioning units, updating the water heater or installing energy generating products (such as solar panels, heat pumps or wind turbines) then you can take advantage of federal energy efficiency tax credits through 2010 that will help defray costs and maximize your remodeling budget while reducing home energy bills. Source: RISMEDIA 3/12/10
Here’s your winter checklist! You look outside one day and it's bright and sunny and the next day snow begins to cover the leaves you forgot to rake. That's right, winter is just around the corner and you need to get your home ready. Also check wood floors just inside patio and exit doors for signs of water entry. Probe through the carpet or check under the doors from the basement or crawl space area for signs of dampness. Look for rotting sub-flooring, floor joists and sill plates (the wood that rests on the foundation wall). If possible, check behind the insulation for signs of rotting or infestation. Vinyl floor covering can be discolored from mildew trapped between the vinyl and wet sub-flooring. Caulk and seal around window and door openings. Fill cracks and openings in concrete drives, walks and patios. Have the heating system and flue inspected by a qualified heating technician. It is very important to change or clean the furnace filter on a regular basis. If the furnace has a built-in humidifier, have the humidifier cleaned. Treat the humidifier each month during the heating season to resist mold growth inside the air system. Have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a certified chimney sweep. Store fire wood two to three feet off the ground and away from the home's foundation. Wood piles invite unwanted guests all year long. Garden hoses should be drained and stored inside. If you have shut-offs for the outside hose faucets, they need to be closed for winter. Do not leave a garden hose connected to an outside faucet. Even an anti-freeze faucet will freeze and eventually leak if a hose is left connected all winter. Drain the gasoline from lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc. Remove grass, dirt and all debris and store for winter. Stuff a paper towel in the gas tank, leaving enough of the towel exposed so the towel can later be removed. Store the equipment with the gas lid off. The tank has to be drained with no gasoline or gasoline fumes present before the paper towel is stuffed inside. The towel keeps the inside of the tank dry and ready for next spring. Never store gasoline or equipment containing gasoline inside the home, garage or basement.
Congress has changed the rules – effective as of 2009 – for vacation homes and rental properties. Here’s what you need to know about paying the piper. 1Y0-309 Congress has pulled the rug out from under vacation and rental home owners planning to squeeze tax-free profit from their second homes. Under current law, you could sell your primary residence and take up to $250,000 of profit - $500,000 if you file a joint return – tax-free, as long as you owned and lived in the place for two of the five years leading up to the sale. Then you could move into your vacation home or a rental property and, by living in it for at least two years, get a second bite of the tax-free apple. Even profit that built up while it was a vacation home or rental could dodge the IRS. No more. To help pay for the big housing bill passed this summer, Congress has changed the rules so that some of your gain will be taxable of you convert your vacation home or rental unit to a primary residence after 2008. The portion of the gain to be taxed is based on the ratio of non-qualified use – the time the property is used as a vacation home or rental unit after this year – to the total amount of time you owned the property. Assume you bought a second home in 2000. Let’s say you convert it to your primary residence in 2011 and sell it two years later. In this example, the home would be used as a vacation property for two years after 2008, so one-seventh of the profit (two out of the 14 years you owned it) would be taxed at capital gains rates. The remainder of the gain – up to $500,000 for couples – would be tax-free. This tax law change could be even more significant if you buy a second home after 2008. In that case, none of the time it is used for vacations or rental income qualifies for the tax exclusion. But if you convert it to your principal residence, the longer you live there, the less the profit from a sale will be taxed. And you can avoid the crackdown altogether if you move in before the end of this year, says Raffaele Mari, a CPA in Corona Del Mar, CA. But what do you do with your current home? You could rent it to general case flow and buy some time before selling it in this slow housing market, Mari says. The tightening doesn’t apply in reverse: You’d still qualify for tax-free profit on the home as long as you sell it within three years to meet the two-of-five-years test. 1Y0-731 Source: Mary Beth Franklin, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Kiplinger.com
Here's how to do it right wherever you live, plus what all the numbers on containers mean Fact: Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. So, yes, it pays off. Here’s how to do it right wherever you live. Collect newspapers in a paper grocery bag or in tied bundles, depending on your community’s guidelines, and set them out on pickup day. (It takes up to 75,000 trees to produce one Sunday edition of the New York Times.) Don’t recycle wet cardboard. It can clog sorting machines. Throw it away to keep it from contaminating the rest of the load. Don’t recycle bottle tops; they’re not made from the same plastic as recyclable bottles. But if you forget, don’t sweat it. They’ll be sorted down the line. (The energy saved by recycling one plastic bottle can power a computer for 25 minutes.) Rinse cans, but crushing isn’t necessary. The aluminum can is the most recycled item in the United States, as well as the most valuable. It can be recycled again and again, and so efficiently that a can is regenerated and back on the shelf in as little as 60 days. Don’t fret if you can’t get the lime out of the beer bottle or the last of the peanut butter from the jar. The recycler’s machinery will zap all contaminants. But do empty and rinse glass jars and containers. Wondering about the little numbers on your milk container? They identify what the container is made of — and what it will be in its next life. 1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles; recycled into pillow fill. 2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene): Plastic milk bottles, detergent bottles; recycled into new detergent bottles. 3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Take-out boxes, shampoo; recycled into drainage and irrigation pipes. 4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene): Grocery bags, shrink wrap; recycled into new bags. 5 PP (polypropylene): Yogurt containers, bottle caps; recycled into plastic lumber. 6 PS (polystyrene): Packing peanuts; recycled into plastic lumber, cassette-tape boxes. 7 Other: Includes squeezable ketchup bottles and microwavable dishes; these items can’t be recycled. Reproduced from www.realsimple.com
What would Granny do? Rediscover the joy of green and cheap solutions!1. Line Dry Your Sheets and Towels Indulge yourself by sleeping each night on pillowcases and sheets freshened by sun and breeze, both of which naturally disinfect and lift stains. You'll also save energy, since automatic dryers use 6 percent of household electricity. 2. Get a Rain Barrel Buy a fab-looking rain barrel from a garden store, such as a space-saving model that 'pops up,' or simply use something old. You'll reduce the amount of storm water that runs off your property and into overburdened sewers, causing erosion and spreading pesticides, oil and other toxins. Use the water for plants and save on your water bills. 3. Reinvent the Root Cellar You don't have to live with a dirt-floor cellar to take advantage of stocking up on fresh vegetables and fruits during harvest (when prices are cheap). All you need is a cool, dark place that won't freeze; it could be under a stairwell, or in a corner of a basement, garage or shed. Pack clean, dry produce -- such as carrots, beets, potatoes and winter squash -- in boxes surrounded by sawdust, sand or straw. You want good air circulation and relatively high humidity (earthen floors work well, or put out trays of water or damp cloths). Remove spoiled items immediately and keep apples separate, since they promote ripening. 4. Supplement Your Heat with a Wood Pellet Stove Pellet stoves are vastly more efficient than traditional fireplaces or woodstoves, and produce very little smoke and ash. They are easy to install in many settings, and don't require a masonry chimney. They use a little electricity (to run fans and controls), and slowly burn wood pellets that are made out of recycled, compressed sawdust that would otherwise be thrown out by mills. 5. Rediscover Borax and Baking Soda People have been cleaning and bathing with mild, naturally occurring baking soda since ancient Egypt. It is great for scouring and deodorizing many surfaces, from tile to toys and hands. Borax is an element that forms crystals in arid regions. It makes a good cleaning agent, disinfectant, mold killer and stain remover, from the laundry room to the bathroom. Both substances are cheap and readily available. 6. Repel Moths with Aromatic Herbs To protect your fabrics, use cedar shavings and blocks or cheesecloth bags filled with cloves, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves or other herbs. Your favorite sweaters, not to mention your drawers and closets, will smell fresh and clean. You'll avoid mothballs, which contain a pesticide the EPA links to cataracts, liver and neurological damage. 7. Use Vintage Dish Towels Avoid paper towels, and have fun finding and collecting vintage and funky dish towels from garage and estate sales, auctions and online. You can even get different sets for the seasons and holidays. You'll add a splash of color (and a conversation piece) to your kitchen and table. (www.TheGreenGuide.com)